CH 76

32. Mind Reading (4)

Shocked, Ye-Hyeon couldn’t say anything and only looked at Baek Hae-Won’s back.

Baek Hae-Won pushed Lee Young-Shin leisurely with a bright smile. The power was so different that it overshadowed Lee Young-Shin’s modest threats.

‘What’s his real face?’

He felt as if he had been beaten hard in the back of his head. Ye-Hyeon was confused because he didn’t know what was acting and real.

He was a tiger hiding his claws. Ye-Hyeon now understands why Baek Hae-Son laughed so loudly when he said he was worried because he was so nice. He was embarrassed that he tried to come forward acting cool.

“Whoa.”

[It bothers me…]

Baek Hae-Won sighed and simply arranged his messy hair.

Ye-Hyeon flinched reflexively.

Baek Hae-Won turned around and was back to normal.

“It’s no use trying to talk to someone like that. I feared he would harm you when I was not by your side later, so I reacted too much without realizing it.”

Baek Hae-Wwon frowned slightly. It seemed true that he hated Lee Young-Shin.

Baek Hae-Won was looking at Ye-Hyeon’s reaction.

‘Do I have to fall for this?’

Ye-Hyeon couldn’t answer easily and hesitated for a while.

The Baek Hae-Won, Ye-Hyeon has seen so far was neither impulsive nor emotional. It may be because of his role as a mentor, but it always felt like he is taking a step back and watching.

It was difficult to react when Baek Hae-Won suddenly got angry.

Did he show it to him on purpose?

He could have kicked Lee Young-Shin out.

It seemed that he had a different intention when he brought him to the hospital to receive ASDT, he showed his real face before the results came out.

Ye-Hyeon staggered toward the sofa and slumped.

“You were a scary man, Hunter Baek Hae-Won.”

Ye-Hyeon did not hide his surprise but shrugged his shoulders, saying a little joke.

“Ha ha.”

Baek Hae-Won laughed out loud when Ye-Hyeon responded truthfully. It was a 180-degree different from the laughter he used while facing Lee Young-Shin.

Still, thanks to the experience of meeting all kinds of people, Ye-Hyeon shook off the shock quickly.

“I’ll do well from now on. Don’t be angry with me.”

Ye-Hyeon was envious and murmured, rolling his eyes around.

Baek Hae-Won approached with a subtle smile and immediately bent down next to the sofa where Ye-Hyeon sat. Then, he put his head on the back of his hand and stared at Ye-Hyeon.

Looking up, Baek Hae-Won’s eyes, which were originally soft, became more round. With a gentle smile added to it, Baek Hae-Won looked more innocent and neat than usual.

Ye-Hyeon took a small breath. Baek Hae-Won was too pretty from any angle.

“Do you think I’ll ever get mad at you?”

[Let’s get rid]

Contrary to the friendly words, Baek Hae-Won’s inner thoughts were brutal.

‘You’re going to kill me?’

Ye-Hyeon got goosebumps on his back because he thought he might be threatened like Lee Young-Shin if he couldn’t resolve his doubts. No, it won’t just end in intimidation. His mouth felt dry.

“Right?”

Ye-Hyeon was very nervous but smiled as if he was innocent.

“Ye-Hyeon won’t disappoint me either, right?”

All the words from Baek Hae-Won’s mouth sounded meaningful.

Baek Hae-Won shook his head and flapped his eyelashes.

He was close enough to touch Baek Hae-Won’s cheek just by twisting his body. The subtle scent he smelled earlier tickled Ye-Hyeon’s nose again.

Ye-Hyeon pressed his earlobe with his fingernails. Baek Hae-Won intended to look pretty today.

It is not enough to pay close attention to Baek Hae-Won’s every move, but his vigilance continued to be broken down. Ye-Hyeon was confused about whether it was because his heart was beating fast because he felt threatened or because Baek Hae-Won was showing off his beauty right in front of him.

‘…Don’t be possessed by his looks.’

Ye-Hyeon tried to pull himself together, but Baek Hae-Won’s smile was so shiny that she could hardly take his eyes off it.

[My face…]

Baek Hae-won’s eyes were wide open.

Baek Hae-Won caught him. Ye-Hyeon coughed in vain to hide his embarrassment.

“But honestly, I felt a little relieved. You were cool.”

Ye-Hyeon lowered his voice and whispered, tilting his upper body to the opposite side of Baek Hae-Won.

Ye-Hyeon had more than one or two rumours made by Lee Young-Shin. It was a relief to see Lee Young-Shin, who was always condescending and fearless, being chased away pathetically.

“You keep…”

The smile hanging around Baek Hae-Won’s mouth was faintly disturbed. Baek Hae-Won slowly got up and sat on the sofa opposite Ye-Hyeon.

“……I couldn’t do what Ye-Hyeon asked earlier. How about something else?”

“Another one?”

The subject suddenly changed. When Ye-Hyeon asked again, he had a neat smile.

“You know there’s a rating review at the end of this month. It’s impossible as it is, but if you build up a few A-level gate-clearing records, you can get promoted to A-level.”

“A-list gate? We are still wandering around at the C-level gate. How?”

“Let me introduce you to an S-class hunter. If you have a party with him, you can do it as you want.”

It was an unconventional proposal. It took a lot of work to get a chance to connect with an S-class hunter.

” Hunter Baek Hae-Won.”

However, Ye-Hyeon called Baek Hae-Won with a little resentment wondering how he could say such a thing.

Baek Hae-Won smiled even more, regardless.

“You asked about the lab director working on Mana-resistant treatment before, right? It’s hard to tell you the details, but they said they can only provide information to hunters registered with the association or those with grade A or higher for security reasons.”

When Dr. Jeong Yul’s story came out, Ye-Hyeon’s expression shook.

“Only one fixed party can be entered at a time, so now the party has no choice but to be disbanded. Even if you break up the party, you won’t lose anything, right?”

He used to cover up his displeasure with a fine smile and a gentle tone, but this time, he rambled rather than soothe Ye-Hyeon’s mood.

“What do you want…”

Baek Hae-Won seemed to want to ask what Ye-Hyeon wanted while mentioning the S-class hunter.

‘I need to speak well.’

Ye-Hyeon swallowed a dry spit.

“……How long will it take to challenge the A-list gate with our current party?”

It may be an unexpected question. Baek Hae-Won tilted his head, slightly narrowing his forehead.

“One year.”

His heart sank at the answer without hesitation. According to Ye-Hyeon’s calculation, a year later, it was time to get attention as the next S-class hunter beyond just going in and out of the A-class dungeon.

“No matter how long it is, we can aim for a clear in a year.”

Baek Hae-Won added one beat late. Only then did Ye-Hyeon feel relieved.

“We can participate in the A-level gate sweep in half a year at the current growth rate. Ye-Hyeon, how did you pick only talented people? If you have a way, I want to learn it.”

Baek Hae-Won squinted his eyes.

It was generally impossible for Ye-Hyeon to have four hunters with S-class availability at one party. He thought it would look more suspicious if he just answered that he was lucky.

Ye-Hyeon didn’t choose. The system decided it…….’

It was unfair, but there was no way to explain it.

“I guess all my colleagues are outstanding. There are already several colleagues who entered the B-level gate. It’s great.”

Ye-Hyeon laughed like an innocent man.

Ye-Hyeon’s colleagues had many hunters with excellent qualities, called the “golden generation,” except for Kwon Joo-Ho, Shin Do-/gyeom, and Yoon Seung-Jae. Militant hunters like Min Se-Ah follow B-level gate sweeps at the risk of injury.

Baek Hae-Won would have already known. Baek Hae-Won nodded slowly. He seemed somewhat convinced, though reluctant.

Even while calmly continuing the story, Baek Hae-Won’s inner thoughts changed from time to time. However, there needed to be more information to be obtained.

Three letters are too short.

While listening to Baek Hae-Won’s thoughts, Ye-Hyeon had to guess what he meant and answer easily. His head throbbed as I tried to do many things simultaneously.